Second Life News & Events & Guides

The Art Institute Online Launches Student Community in Second Life Online Courses Will Be Taught In Virtual 3D Learning Environment 

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, has opened a student campus in Second Life, a virtual online community, which will be the forum for a new Business Communications course. The faculty, realizing the potential for a rewarding learning experience, credits student interest in Second Life as the source for the course’s development.

Developed by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, Second life linden is a rapidly growing and constantly changing 3D MUVE (multi-user virtual environment) where residents can discover a world of exploration, socializing, creativity, self-expression, and learning. The online society uses real-time 3D streaming technology and runs on proprietary software that students can download from the Second Life web site at www.secondlife.com.

Second Life allows The Art Institute Online students and faculty to create avatars – or cartoon-like characters – that interact with one another and are controlled via keyboard and mouse. The course will be primarily asynchronous and students will have the opportunity to communicate in an environment that lends itself to socialization.

The course will involve both constructivism (learning by doing) and simulation-based learning. By providing real-world objects, structures, and scenarios, student ‘players’ will be able to apply knowledge of business processes and techniques associated with the real world to this virtual environment